A woman claims she became so ill due to black mould in her new-build home that doctors suspected she might have cancer. Maja Klaczynska, 33, was forced to move out of her flat in Silvertown, East London, as the condition made it uninhabitable.
Health Deterioration
Klaczynska, who owns 30% of the flat, visited her GP after suffering from severe headaches and joint pain. Despite a persistent cough and fever, doctors could not diagnose the cause and sent her for CT and PET scans, fearing leukaemia or lymphoma. Fortunately, those tests came back negative.
The management consultant moved into the flat in July 2022, fulfilling her dream of owning a London home after moving from Poland at age 18. She says she left with only the clothes she was wearing, claiming all her possessions were covered in mould.
Mould Discovery
Klaczynska noticed a crack in her bath upon moving in, which led her to investigate mould. Several inspections were conducted, but she was told nothing was wrong. She said: 'I was alone, with no family around me and terrified that I was living in a flat that could kill me.'
She is now taking legal action against landlord Peabody Trust through Hodge Jones & Allen. She claims Peabody and the builder dismissed her concerns about mould.
Legal Action
After hiring her own experts, they discovered black mould in the bathroom, kitchen, and walls. 'It was devastating to hear that the amount of mould in the flat was off the scale,' she said. She moved out in October 2023 and stayed in temporary accommodation until October 2024, when she moved in with her partner.
Klaczynska said: 'I lost everything and had been forced out of my home. It has been a nightmare from start to finish.'
Response from Peabody
A Peabody spokesperson said: 'We’re very sorry for the impact this has had on Maja. We completely understand how upsetting it must be to move into a new home and then have these problems. The repairs were finished in January. As this was a new home, the builder was responsible. We arranged alternative accommodation and stayed in regular contact.'
Bahareh Amani, partner at Hodge Jones & Allen, said: 'It is down to her incredible resilience that she is still fighting, and we are determined to get her some form of justice for what she has been through.'
